Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 2004)
Sneak peek: Inside the Museum of Natural History | Page 6A An independent newspaper www. dailyemerald. com Since 1900 \ Volume 106, Issue31 | Friday, Octobers, 2004 ★ AMERICA VOTES 2004 ★ Violence breaks out at local Heinz Kerry rally Attendees say the wife of presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry handled the disruption between democrats and a Bush supporter with composure BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF NEWS REPORTER Violence broke out during Teresa Heinz Ker ry’s appearance at McDonald Theatre on Thurs day after a University student interrupted her speech, loudly proclaiming his support for Pres ident Bush. Senior political science major and College Re publicans member Anthony Warren said he was attacked and forcibly removed from the room by Kerry supporters after yelling “four more years” just as Heinz Kerry, wife of Democ ft ratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, had begun speaking. “It was like trying to survive a lynch mob,” Warren said of the attack, adding that he was hit “so many times it’s hard to remember the details. ” Warren, 22, was released from Sacred Heart Medical Center on Thursday afternoon with what he called “severe head trauma and contu sions.” A hospital representative said Warren sustained “no serious injuries.” Willamette High School senior Chelsea Yocum said she was just a few feet away from Tim Bobosky | Photographer Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, spoke at the McDonald Theatre on Thursday afternoon. She addressed issues including terrorism, jobs and the failures of the Bush administration. Warren when the violence broke out and was impressed by how eloquently Heinz Kerry han dled the interruption. “She was diplomatic, and that’s what she was talking about in her speech,” Yocum said. Heinz Kerry addressed Warren directly, telling him, "If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them but please don’t interrupt. ” The incident lasted just a few minutes, with the chant of “four more years” quickly drowned out by a thundering chant of “four more weeks. ” Lois Medbock, who drove from Portland to see Heinz Kerry, said she did not expect to see a protester because of Eugene’s reputation for overt liberalism. Warren said the liberal reputation Medbock spoke of is part of the reason he attended the event. “For some reason, people are just so engulfed with liberalism that they don’t realize that con servatives do exist in this town,” Warren said, emphasizing that the event was advertised as free and open to the public. “I was just there to show the other side and show support for President Bush,” he said. “The people that did what they did to me are a bunch of hypocrites. ” According to Eugene Police spokeswoman Kerry Delf, no suspects have been identified in the assault, but Warren said he plans on filing charges as soon as he can. “Hopefully they’ve got information on the guy and I can press charges,” Warren said. University student and College Democrats member Gabriel Zitrin said the outburst was immature but something to be expected in a country that encourages political debate, adding that Heinz Kerry did not let the interrup tion affect her performance. “This is the third time I’ve heard her speak and the third time she’s completely inspired me,” he said. Heinz Kerry spoke for about 30 minutes, KERRY, page 12A Tim Bobosky | Photographer College Republicans member and political science major Anthony Warren was assaulted after vocally showing his support for Bush at Thursday’s speech. He was released from Sacred Heart Medical Center with no major injuries. Tim Bobosky | Photographer During Heinz Kerry's visit to Eugene on Thursday, Oregon State University students play off what some have called Sen. John Kerry's tendency to "flip-flop” on issues. ★ AMERICA VOTES 2004* Oregonians swing to the right, but majority remains liberal The Republican Party has gained voting support from rural- and suburban-area voters statewide BY AYISHA YAHYA NEWS EDITOR Over the years, political fortunes in Oregon have constantly shifted in both the Republican and Democratic parties, resulting in losses and gains in the number of party-loyal voters both in state as well as nationally. Different times and circumstances influence the type of political ideology to which voters wish to adhere. “Since 1950 the trend has been more pro-Republican,” University Political Science Assistant Professor Eric McGhee said, speaking of national his torical voting trends. He said many fac tors may have influenced this change: In the South, for instance, voters had been heavily democratic early in the 20th century, but when the Democratic Party became the party of civil rights in the 1960s, it disengaged some of its southern voters. McGhee added that the party’s em phasis on social welfare issues may also have marginalized some middle-class and more conservative voters, who may have felt that issues of concern to them were not going to be addressed. Oregon seems to have followed a similar trajectory with more people reg istering as Republicans over time. About 20 years ago, only Malheur County had more registered Republi cans than Democrats — now at least 26 of the 36 counties have more registered Republicans than Democrats, Oregon Republican Party Chairman Kevin Mannix said. Mannix said that in that twenty years, the Democratic lead has shrunk from 300,000 registered to about 65,000. According to secretary of state voter registration numbers compiled in August 2004, nine counties had more Democ rats registered than Republicans, with a total 762,781 Democrats and 697,346 Re publicans registered statewide. While certain counties like Lane and VOTING, page 5A Bret Furtwancler | Graphics editor Oregon has seen growth in pro-Republican voting during the past several decades. Shortage prevents easy access to flu shots for students The University Health Center turns its attention to educating students about healthy behavior BY KARA HANSEN NEWS REPORTER University students looking to stay healthy during the upcoming flu season will have to look farther than the health center for vaccines. 1 ne university will not be receiving or administering flu shots this year be cause of a national shortage of influenza vaccine for the up coming flu season, said University Health Center Assistant Nursing Director IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE FLU Call the University Health Center at 346-2770, or call the University's flu line at 346-4444 to learn about symptoms. Source: University Health Center, Lane County Public Health Sharon Harbert. In light of the shortage, U.S. health officials have established guidelines on who should receive available shots — and healthy, young college students aren’t among the recommended groups, Harbert said. “Our nation could have a very severe flu season, because people can’t get vaccinated,” she said, noting the health center planned to supply flu shots as recently as early October. “But it’s something people couldn’t foresee. There’s a severe vaccine snort age nationwide.” Influenza causes 36,000 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although the illness only lasts a few days for most people. Vaccine pro ducer Chiron Corp., which supplies about half of the nation’s supply of flu vaccine, an nounced this week that it will not distribute the shots this year. Last year, the health center ad ministered more than 2,000 flu shots to students and faculty VACCINE, page 12A
